


Unhappy Meetings

by mysterycyclone



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Gen, Irondad, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, set during endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23652172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysterycyclone/pseuds/mysterycyclone
Summary: Three years after Peter's death on Titan, Tony Stark meets Richard Parker face to face.OrThe one where Richard returns from the dead to ask about his long lost son.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Richard Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 12
Kudos: 118





	Unhappy Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> This has been haunting me since I read a comic three months ago.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy it.

Tony is a man well acquainted with grief. It started when he lost his parents, and has carried through with all of the losses he’s endured since then. He hasn’t carried it well--the 90s are a testament to that alone--but he’s grown used to it. The one thing he will never get used to is Peter’s loss, but he’s accepted that. Peter has and will always be a part of his life. A painfully short part of his life.

Morgan’s birth has helped center him. He’s never set aside his grief, but he’s learned to live around it. To be there for Morgan, to raise her, guide her, love her the way only a doting father can.

Which is what he tries to remember when he’s busy plucking yet another lego brick out of the bottom of his foot in the living room while Morgan naps on the couch besides Pepper.

“You spoil her,” Tony accuses Rhodey, cleaning up the latest pile of Lego bricks Morgan left behind on the living room floor. Sitting beside the pile is a small Black Panther stuffed animal from Wakanda. Tony flicks the toy’s ear. “I swear every time you come over here, you get her a new toy.”

“I do not,” Rhodey counters. “She asks for a souvenir from every place I visit. It’s not my fault I’ve been flying all over the world lately. And Okoye said T’challa had the same toy growing up. It's Wakandan approved.”

Tony’s halfway through thinking of a comment for that when Pepper interrupts them.

“Tony, we have a visitor,” Pepper says. She’s looking out of the front window. “Were you expecting anyone?”

“No, I’m not,” Tony replies, standing up to look outside and frown at the man approaching the cabin. There’s a sleek, black car similar to the one he’s seen Nat drive parked in front of the house. He shoots Rhodey a wary look. “Wait here.”

Rhodey nods. “Be careful.”

Tony mentally prepares himself for the worst. The only other explanation would be a call to arms from the government or what’s left of the Avengers, but both of those would come from Natasha at the Compound. If it’s serious enough to warrant a personal visit to his family’s home, then Nat would make the trip herself. Unless she’s been hurt and needs to send someone else in her stead.

Journalists haven’t found this cabin yet, but it’s really only a matter of time before they start causing trouble. The world is starting to heal and recover, and that means people are going to start placing blame for the Blip in earnest. He’s been expecting them to pop up for weeks now, truthfully.

Given the way the man moves, Tony suspects he's part the former rather than the latter. The man walks with the easy grace of a fighter, and he looks around the cabin area as if determining where the faults in security lie. The man doesn't appear to be in any hurry, either; his steps are slow and thoughtful, and grow slower still when he reaches the cabin's front porch. He knocks on the door, quickly and confidently before stepping back and clasping his hands behind his back.

Tony opens the door, already preparing to send the man packing; he's retired now, fully and completely, and the Avengers can do whatever they please, as far as he cares. He's even all but forbidden Avengers talk with Rhodey. That part of his life is gone for good. He steps out onto the porch to meet the man and freezes. He can feel his jaw drop and his eyes widen. His hand falls from the doorknob, leaving the door hanging open.

Standing on his doorstep is Peter Parker.

Except it isn't. Because he saw Peter die on Titan. Felt him slip through his fingers to mingle with the dust of that dead world. 

Tony can feel his vision narrow and his breathing hitch just slightly. 

"Mr. Stark," the man says.

And it's wrong, the way he says it. Formal and assured, one professional to another, in a voice eerily like Peter's but older. Rougher with age. And subtly colder. 

That’s enough to snap Tony away from unhappy memories. His mind is racing a mile a minute, and he feels himself grow tense as he finally places the man’s face. He’s older than the photographs Peter showed him. There are threads of grey along his temples, and the creases around his mouth and eyes are deeper. There are no laugh lines on his face. "Richard."

Richard blinks at him, caught off guard. "I'm surprised you recognize me."

"Yeah, well. I've seen photos," Tony replies, crossing his arms. He taps anxiously at his own shoulder, regarding the man in front of him. He can feel the bare beginnings of dread tingle along the back of his neck. "You know. Because of who my intern is." Was.

“Right,” Richard says. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Mr. Stark. Peter.”

“Right, right. Sure. Just a few questions before we begin?”

“Uh, sure. What?” Richard has the sense to look wary.

“Why are you alive?” Tony knows there are multiple ways for people to come back from the dead. In the months following the Blip, he practically moved into Wong’s Sanctum and drove him up the wall with questions and theories and hypotheticals. Every method Wong told him about was ultimately something to be avoided; people don’t get to die and come back the same. They always come back wrong somehow. Some vital piece of themselves never makes the return trip.

Hell, Coulson is proof of that in some ways.

So it’s very possible that Richard somehow came back to life but is now a sleeper agent for some eldritch abomination from a far off realm meant to eat the world or something--thank you very much for _those_ new nightmares, Wong--

“I was never dead to begin with.”

Tony goes very, very still.

“I was undercover with SHIELD this whole time,” Richard continues, unaware of Tony’s shock. “Mary and I both worked for them. We went undercover to take apart a very dangerous group of people and left Peter with Ben and May. They found out we were undercover SHIELD agents and they rigged our car to explode." He pauses, frowning, obviously fighting back some hard memories, judging by the glazed look in his eyes. "Mary was the one who started it. She was going to meet with our handler on her own while I stayed in the apartment to keep up appearances. It killed her instantly. The group we were chasing assumed we both died in the explosion. And fortunately, they didn't know about Peter or who he was staying with."

“So you just left him behind?” Tony asks incredulously. “With a brother who thought you were dead? To mourn you alone?”

“You make it sound worse than it is,” Richard replies. “I had my reasons.”

“Oh, good. I want to hear them.”

Richard sighs, rubbing the back of his neck in a move so eerily similar to Peter’s that it makes Tony’s teeth clench. “Listen, this group was bad news. I can’t get into the full details of it without clearance, but suffice to say that they were the prime target of SHIELD before aliens started pouring out of the skies. I was in a position to move against them and bring them down. You can’t easily defend against someone you think you’ve already killed. It was something of a unique opportunity and one I needed to capitalize on. I couldn't let Mary die in vain.” 

Tony has nothing to say to that.

Actually he has quite a bit to say to that, but he’s trying to maintain his composure. He can feel a burning rage in his stomach start to simmer, and it’s growing warmer with every word out of Richard’s mouth. He clenches his jaw, biting down on the words he desperately wants to say.

_How dare you._

"So, yes. Yes, I left him to Ben and May," Richard says, helplessly. "He belonged there, with them, living a normal life I couldn’t even hope to provide. He was always happier with them anyway. To be perfectly honest, I was never much of a father."

"SHIELD pays their agents pretty well, don't they?" asks Tony.

Richard, thrown by the question, frowns and shrugs. "Field agents make a decent amount. Enough to retire with after a few good missions. Why?"

Tony scoffs, motioning for Richard to continue. "Nothing. Keep going. I'm listening."

Richard looks like a man trying to maneuver through a minefield. "Mary died. I had no idea how to--" He pauses, as if realizing admitting to Tony he has no idea how to be a _parent_ is a stupid idea. "I couldn't do it alone. I was never good at parenting, even with a kid like Pete. And the people who killed Mary would be looking for me if they knew I was alive. They didn't care about Peter."

 _Seems you have something in common with them,_ Tony thinks darkly. He barely keeps from saying it out loud. Two years ago, he would have blurted it out immediately, but he's grown a bit since then. He's learned to temper himself, first for Peter, and now for Morgan.

And that's something Richard will never experience; becoming a better man and father to benefit his children. 

"I told my field supervisor to put me undercover so I could find the people who killed my wife," Richard says. “She didn’t deserve that death, but they more than earned theirs.”

Well. They have something in common in that. Tony can sympathize with the rush of fury and horror after losing someone. But he can’t even _imagine_ abandoning his child in the name of revenge. Even the thought of leaving Morgan to Rhodey or Happy while he flies off on a personal quest for revenge sickens him to his core. He can all too easily imagine Morgan’s hurt and confusion.

"How long did it take you to find the people who killed Peter’s mother?"

"They were all dead within a month," Richard replies, as if it's something to brag about. 

"A month,” Tony repeats tonelessly. “And you come looking for Peter now."

Richard realizes his mistake. "Listen, they weren't the only ones. I had to upend an entire organization, practically by myself. After an operation like that, it's common to go underground for awhile. And there are things more important than a kid--"

Tony hits his limit. He drops his arms to his sides and marches towards Richard, his vision going red with rage. Before he can think to stop himself, he reaches out and roughly shoves Richard’s chest, pushing him off of the front porch. The man stumbles, catching himself at the last moment. 

"A kid? _A kid?_ " Tony snarls. "Your kid! Your _son!_ Someone who ended up being three times the man you are by age sixteen! Where the _fuck_ have you been?"

"I---" Richard begins.

"May has been working herself to death, taking on extra jobs and shifts, to put a roof over their head and keep them healthy. The kid barely asks for things he needs because he knows how close they are to missing rent." Tony stops, forces himself to take a deep breath. "How much are you paid in a year?"

Richard has the sense to look uncomfortable. "Fifty million."

"Oh. Pocket change, then. Barely enough to cover bills. Not enough to send back to your _son_."

His outburst has brought out an audience. He can hear Pepper freeze and gasp in shock as she reaches the door. He can hear Rhodey's braces quietly hiss and whir as he moves to stand beside Tony. 

“They would’ve traced the money back to me and he’d be put right back in danger. Listen, I have a long list of enemies.” Richard squares up to Tony now. "Look, I didn't come here to get scolded by you. May's gone. Their apartment is empty. I can't track Pete down. I know he's your intern, I just need to know where he is."

"Why? To take him in? Make your glorious return from the dead _three years after he lost May?_ " Tony is almost besides himself with anger. "The Blip happened three years ago, pal."

"To _check in on him._ I wanted to make sure he had someone looking out for him. Someone good," Richard cuts in, exasperated. "Make sure he got into college, help him with some tuition bills, if he’s in a tight spot. I just--everyone else is gone. He's all that's left."

"And he's the last thing you come back to." Tony considers not telling him. It isn't just that the memory is raw and almost too painful to talk about, it's that Tony suspects Richard is looking for an excuse to start over with a new life.

Richard tilts his head, meeting Tony's gaze with a steely one of his own. "If he's here, I want to talk to him. I deserve--"

"A swift kick in the ass, and not much more than that," Tony snaps. "He died in the Blip. If you had bothered to do your homework, you would have seen the page dedicated to him in his yearbook or found his name on the monuments to the lost."

A page Tony paid for, full of notes from himself, Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy. A memorial to go with a dozen others around his lab, his office, and everywhere else he's gone. 

Richard’s shoulders slump, and Tony can plainly see the regret and grief in the man's eyes.

He can also see the relief.

"The only thing keeping me from beating you into a pulp is the knowledge that the kid wouldn't want me to," Tony says gravely. "But when he gets back--when I get him back-- _you won't ever come near him._ Understood? You had better _stay dead_ to Peter. Let him think you're better than who you really are. Change your name. Change your face. And never come here again."

Richard stares at Tony with an odd look. Tony can recognize a wounded ego from a mile away and he briefly considers punching Richard in the face. Richard raises his hands, palms out in surrender and slowly backs away towards the sleek black car parked on the drive.

"I was right about one thing, Mr. Stark," Richard drawls, leaning against the door to his car. "He did have someone looking out for him. Thank you.”

“Save the shit and get out of here,” Tony orders. “Trust me, buddy, my patience only goes so far.”

Richard, perhaps wisely, gets into his car and starts it. He stares at Tony for a moment before slowly turning the vehicle around to follow the winding path back to the main road several miles away. 

Tony takes in a deep breath, trying to calm his rattled nerves. Pepper reaches out to take one of his shaking hands, giving him a look of gentle support. Rhodey walks over to the edge of the porch, watching the dust cloud rise up in Richard Parker's wake.

"You know, it's probably a good thing Happy isn't here," Rhodey remarks. "He probably would've slugged the guy."

"I probably should've done that myself," Tony mutters darkly.

A small voice pipes up behind him. “Who was that?”

Tony startles, turning to find Morgan staring up at him from the doorway with curious brown eyes. He leans down and picks her up, tucking her in against his chest. “No one important. I thought you were taking a nap.”

“Naps are boring,” Morgan declares, wrapping her arms around his neck. She waves at Rhodey over Tony’s shoulder. “Hi, Uncle Rhodey!”

Rhodey beams at Morgan. “Hey, squirt.”

“She gets that from you,” Pepper says to Tony dryly. She wraps an arm around Tony’s waist, tugging him back towards the door. “Come on, honey. Let’s get inside.”

Tony is still focused on the dust left in Richard’s wake. He makes a note to have Friday keep tabs on the man as he walks back inside. Life without Peter has been painful, full of grief and longing that grows deeper by the day as he misses more parts of Tony’s life. But Tony is grateful for one thing.

He’s grateful Peter never got the chance to realize just what kind of a man his father truly is.


End file.
